RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 20 – Sydney (SYD) to Nadi (NAN)

By Nige on February 6, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: Fiji Airways | Nadi | NAN | SYD | Sydney

My flight was due to leave from Gate 59, which wasn’t too far from the lounge. The terminal was noticeably quieter at 1pm than it had been at 9am earlier in the day — which meant fewer people getting in my way.

The gate area itself was calm. I handed over my boarding pass and passport for the document check and, amusingly, the gate agent asked why I wasn’t in the lounge.

An announcement was made advising of a delay to boarding due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft, although from what I could see on FlightAware, it had arrived more or less on time.

Once on board and settled into seat 12A, I was offered a lovely mint-based cocktail — surprisingly good — along with a hot coconut-infused towel. Wow. That was a very nice touch.

We pushed back on time and were soon on our way. Promo codes for internet access were handed out and the drinks and tropical nuts service followed shortly afterwards.

The in-flight entertainment was very good, with what I’d estimate to be a 20-inch screen. I chose a documentary called The Space Race, which tells the story of the first Black astronauts and the people who helped push NASA towards greater equality.

It was a really impressive and largely untold story — well worth watching.

For lunch (or dinner — time was becoming fairly abstract by this point), I ordered the chowder. It was stunningly good, although it could have done with being just a little warmer.

For the main course, I chose a beautifully flavoured chicken breast with rice. The accompanying vegetables were rather soft and less impressive, but the main dish more than made up for it.

Fiji Airways was rapidly building a reputation for outstanding desserts, and the cheesecake I ordered fully justified that reputation. It was superb.

With the flight coming in just under four hours, I managed to get my head down for a couple of hours of solid napping. At this stage, it was all about topping up my sleep wherever possible.

When I arrived back in the US, I knew I had two recliner-only flights ahead of me, so it made sense to take advantage of any opportunity to sleep properly while I could.

My onward flight to Los Angeles would be another 10-hour sector on an A350, so at least that promised to be another comfortable ride.

There were some lovely views on final approach into Nadi. The landing was smooth and the taxi to the gate was short.

We deplaned from door 2L, which meant I was among the last of the business-class passengers to leave the aircraft.

Next up: My flight from Nadi (NAN) to Los Angeles (LAX) on Day 20 of my Round The World trip of a lifetime.

---

Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026